


Drunk In Love

by livxxmarie



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-25 07:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7523797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livxxmarie/pseuds/livxxmarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link is affectionate and nosy when he's drunk and Rhett is far too attracted to him to handle it with a clear mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drunk In Love

It had been an average Friday night. Gregg had convinced Rhett to go out to the bar with him, who in turn dragged along a reluctant Link. The brunette had complained endlessly on the ride there, but as soon as they pulled up and the bass vibrated against his feet, he flashed nothing but excited smiles.

Usually, Link was just happy to get out and be his normal, flirty self with everyone he could find. He never drank that much, too focused on making friends and dancing. Rhett was the one stumbling back to the car, maybe throwing up, and Link would end up half-carrying him back to the dorm as he rolled his eyes and made some snarky comments that Rhett never remembered hearing. However, this Friday night was an exception to their normal routine, and it was Rhett taking care of Link.

“Now I know why you hate goin’ out with me,” Rhett grumbled as he held Link up, the shorter of the two giggling and hiccupping as they walked together.

“Naw, I don’t hate it, bo! I love the bar. I love you, brother,” Link said, a sloppy sideways smile plastered on his face. He patted Rhett’s back appreciatively and rested his head on the man’s shoulder for a moment.

“Don’t get sappy on me, now.” Rhett laughed uncomfortably as he tried to shake Link off of him. He _really_ didn’t need to be loved on by Link tonight when the man would barely remember it in the morning. At this point, they had finally reached the dorm and Link had extricated himself from Rhett’s side.

“I can’t make it all th’ way up there,” Link stated, eyebrows raised comically as he stared up at the top bunk. Rhett suppressed a sigh and instead nodded.

“That’s fine. I’ll sleep up there.” He had one foot on the ladder when his back began to protest, already sore from Link’s weight resting on him for the past hour or so. Before he could suffer through the rest, Link was grabbing his leg.

“No! No, no. You’re gonna get hurt. Knock it off.”

“Knock what off?”

“Movin’. Knock movin’ off. Stop. Whatever you’re doin’, jus’ stop.”

Rhett resisted the urge to laugh at the serious expression on Link’s face and the gibberish that was coming out of his mouth and instead waited for Link to continue speaking. The brunette took an exaggerated breath and laid down on Rhett’s bed, patting the area next to him and smiling.

“C’mon. I don’t bite.”

Rhett felt his face heat up and he shook his head.

“It’s fine, man. I’ll sleep on the floor or somethin’.”

“ _Rhett_ ,” Link whined, pouting as he shook his head. “C’mon. Don’t leave me hangin’. It’ll be just like old times?”

Begrudgingly, Rhett nodded his head and moved to lay next to Link, doing his best to keep their bodies from touching. No movement he made mattered, though, the twin sized mattress much too small to contain both of them and Link’s naturally affectionate nature coming into play, so much so that the brunette was cuddled right on top of his chest.

“What’re you doin?” Rhett asked, his voice accusing. He regretted his tone and expected to see a hurt or angry Link, but the alcohol had sweetened his sensibilities and the man simply shot him a goofy grin.

“I’m gettin’ comfy.”

Rhett snorted at this and shook his head, heartbeat racing but a smile twitching his lips upwards at Link’s happy-go-lucky attitude.

He had finally gotten his emotions in check and was drifting off to sleep when Link huffed an exaggerated sigh and prodded the taller man’s chest with his finger to get his attention. Rhett ignored him at first, but the poking continued incessantly and he eventually gave in and spoke, keeping his eyes shut the entire time.

“What do you want?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“I can.”

“Not anymore,” Link replied, voice indicating his smirk.

Rhett peeked one eye open and was met with a pair of blue eyes much closer to his face than he was used to. His breath caught in his throat for a moment and both of his eyes opened, but he moved through his body’s automatic reactions and did his best to remain in control.

“Alright. I’m awake. Now what?”

Link turned his gaze down to Rhett’s chest and furrowed his eyebrows. It was obvious that the smaller man hadn’t thought he would get to this point of the conversation. He was silent for a moment as his brain worked to figure out something to do. Rhett was just about to let his eyes drift close and fall back asleep when Link’s quiet voice spoke once more.

“Tell me a secret.”

Rhett looked at him, giving into the smile that was itching to spread across his face, and he chuckled.

“A secret? To the best friend I’ve ever had?” Rhett blushed at the admission, but the smile it brought to the brunette’s face was worth the embarrassment.

“Yes.”

“I don’t have any secrets. I tell you everything.” That was a lie, but Rhett wasn’t planning on revealing his long-kept hidden affections. Link deflated at Rhett’s statement.

“There’s nothin’? Nothin’ you’ve been hiding from me? Nothin’ you wanna tell me but you feel like you can’t?” Link persisted, looking much soberer now. Rhett looked around the dorm uncomfortably.

“I don’t know, man. Why don’t you tell me a secret instead?” Rhett was deflecting, and by the response he got to his deflection, Link could tell.

“I _do_ have some. I have a couple. But you don’t have any?”

“I mean, maybe like one? I just- I don’t know, Link! Why can’t we just go to bed?” His voice was meant to come off as something angry as opposed to nervous, but the shakiness was evident and Link’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“So you have one.”

“What?”

“You have a secret.”

“Well, yeah. I have one. You got me.” Rhett would have put his hands up mockingly if one of his arms wasn’t pinned by Link’s body, so he opted for an eyeroll.

“Tell me.”

“That’s the point of a secret. I can’t tell you.”

Link nodded at this, eyes still narrowed. He was still a bit drunk, but Rhett could tell that it was wearing off. Whether that was due to the alcohol simply running out of his system or the nature of their conversation, Rhett wasn’t sure.

“Can I ask you questions about your secret?”

“Like what?”

“How long have you been keeping it from me.”

Rhett had to think about that one. How long _had_ he been attracted to Link? He could opt for the more romantic answer and say that he had been keeping it a secret since they were kids, but he knew that realistically, he had only recognized his attraction during high school.

“Sophomore year of high school.”

Link eyes widened only slightly by the answer and it looked as if he were searching for something in Rhett’s own gray irises. The blonde was suddenly overwhelmed by the eye contact and the awareness he had of Link’s body on his own and fumbled as he tried to think of a way to break the conversation and move it off of him.

“How long have you been keeping your secrets from me?”

“Which one?”

“Any of them.”

Link thought about it for a second, running a hand through his messy hair.

“They all started about the same time. Either eighth grade or freshman year of high school.”

Rhett was surprised by this, and his nosiness got the best of him.

“You’ve been hidin’ somethin’ from me for that long?”

“It’s not much longer than you’ve been hiding from me, brother.”

“But mine’s different.”

“How so?”

Rhett grimaced at his own choice of words, acknowledging that he had dug himself into a hole and wishing they would’ve just went to sleep.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Does it involve me? Is that why it’s different?”

Rhett’s eyes shot up to meet Link’s again and he narrowed them defensively. He analyzed Link’s expression, looking for any tells to what he was thinking. Did he know?

“Do you know? What it is?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe.”

Rhett nodded at this, willing his heart to calm down and doing his best to convince his brain to stop melting down. Link couldn’t possibly know.

“What do you think it is?”

It was a simple solution. If Link guessed incorrectly, which he obviously would, Rhett would either agree to make the conversation end or disagree and laugh loudly at his suspicions. If Link guessed correctly, Rhett could just as easily laugh and make some joke to tease Link, making the brunette angry and thus ending the conversation.

“You’re in love with me.”

 _Whoa_ , Rhett thought, his mind spinning out of control. He hadn’t even acknowledged his emotional connection to Link himself. He knew that he was attracted to his best friend, whatever that meant, but thinking critically and analyzing his emotions and behaviors wasn’t something that Rhett tended to do. He liked to live in the moment and focus on the future rather than contemplating the details. But Link was spot on.

_Shit. I’m in love with him._

Realizing that he hadn’t spoken, his eyes staring straight into Link’s with an expression that had to be one of pure awe at the epiphany he just had, he froze, horrified. He had no idea what to say, how to laugh it off. His heart slammed loudly in his ears, pounding in his chest louder than a marching band. He swallowed, closing his eyes for a minute, wishing he could disappear as he tried to come up with a game plan.

“You are, aren’t you?” Link’s voice was quiet and warm.

Rhett opened his eyes with his mouth opened, prepared to make some elaborate excuse or to say the first thing that came to his mind to derail his best friend’s train of thought. Instead, when his eyes met Link’s beautiful blues, they were hopeful and a small smile was playing on his lips, and Rhett just nodded, the silence ringing in his ears.

Slowly, Link settled back against his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around Rhett and making the taller of the two flinch at the brunette’s strength.

“You’re stronger than you think, buddyroll.” Rhett spoke with a voice that seemed much more normal, as if he had forgotten about their past conversation, and Link met his eyes once more apologetically.

“’M sorry. Let me make it up to you.”

He leaned over and kissed him, simple and sweet, Rhett’s veins filling with fire and love and _Link_. As he tried to pull away, Rhett held him there, deepening the kiss and wrapping his arm around Link’s back to hold him against his own chest. They broke apart moments later, blushing and content, and Rhett suddenly panicked.

“You’re not going to remember any of this, are you?”

Link smiled at him, kissing him once more, open-mouthed and warm.

“No amount of alcohol could make me forget this, bo.”

 


End file.
